Silver Glass
by unperfectwolf
Summary: Het, Draco Malfoy.Hermione Granger . not abandoned, but on hiatus . Silver Glass, breaking oh so fast... “’Mione…” his voice was tired. More tired than she’d ever heard it. “I need your help.” He turned to look at her. “Help me, please?”
1. Chapter One

**Silver Glass**

**By **UnperfectWolf

**©**Kendra-lynne 2004

**Warnings**: Spoilers: I've read the books, and since it's set in seventh year, the events of all of the books will have happened.

**Rated**: PG13- swearing

**Summary**: "'Mione…" his voice was tired. More tired than she'd ever heard it. "I need your help." He turned to look at her. "Help me, please?" (dracohermione)

**Disclaimer**: not mine. never was mine. /sigh/

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**Chapter One**:

When Hermione Granger found out who was Head Boy, she was, to say the least, extremely disappointed. It wasn't to say that she would have only been happy with Ron or Harry being Head Boy, but she certainly wasn't thrilled with Draco Malfoy as her roommate.

She decided, because she was logical and thought through her problems, to give him the benefit of the doubt, for the seventh year running, and wait a month before requesting separate quarters. To her surprise, that month passed and she never had to go to Albus Dumbledor, the beloved headmaster of Hogwarts, for said room change.

For her entire wizarding life (since she had turned eleven and received her letter by owl) Draco Malfoy had been her enemy. While he was one of her best friend's archenemy, she had most definitely made his hit list.

She didn't quite know why, even all these years later. She'd never said a rude word to him first, even after years of his intolerance, and she'd never made a show of hate. She never did hate him, despite what other might have thought. There was only one reason that she could come up with that he wouldn't like her.

She was Muggleborn.

And that reason made her snort with disgust. Just because she was a Muggleborn it didn't mean she wasn't just as powerful, as smart, or as deserving as a Pureblood. In fact, she just so happened to be the 'brightest' witch in her class. In other words: she had the top grades of everyone in her year. She was _the best_. She was _the smartest_. She was _the most advanced_. She knew, with out a doubt, how to handle herself.

She was one of the most powerful of her class as well. Maybe even _the_ most powerful.

And for some reason, that just didn't sit well with Malfoy or his cohorts.

At least, not until the current year. When she'd arrived back at Hogwarts and found out that Malfoy was not only the Head Boy, but she had to share a common room with him, she'd had to take a minute to compose herself, to keep from screaming, whether it be fear or disgust. Either one would have gained her a look of disapproval from her Head of House, and that was something she didn't want.

So she'd composed herself and walked steadily into the room, gracing the pixie in the painting a smile along with the password, '_sodalitas_'. An amused, yet bitter smile had crossed her face when she'd first heard it. 'Companionship'. Something she doubted she would be getting from her new roommate.

She'd been the first in the room. It was a beautiful room, no questions asked. She looked around, seeing the tasteful mixture of their house colors. The carpeting was a deep tan color, the walls left the bare, pale gray the stones that made them were. There was some crimson and some jadish, Slytherin color of green in the room, but for the most part it was decorated with silver and gold.

With out thinking, she began to hum a childhood song. "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold…"

When she realized she'd said the words out loud, she'd smiled softly. Even if she wasn't consciously trying to follow the song's advice, she often did. She was one of those few people in the whole of Hogwarts who truly had friends everywhere. While they were fewer and far between in the Slytherin house, they were there. Many of them were in the years below her, children that she had tutored over the years. Most of them would help defend her, should she need that.

She was just that kind of person, one that could draw you in and make you a loyal friend. Even if you felt that you should fight against her.

She had begun the song again. "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold. A circle's round, it has no end, that's how long, I'll be your friend…"

She let out a chuckle, wondering exactly how she had retained that whole song in her memory. The first part, sure, because it was common knowledge, and many people referred to it, but the second part… She could only remember one place she'd heard that, and that was a kidvid that she could no longer remember the name of.

She had been about to go look through the three doors on the left side of the room when the door behind her opened. Turning, she came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

Internally, she cringed. _Here it comes,_ she thought, _the insult of my life_. She knew, that under no uncertain circumstances, that he _hated_ her with all his being. It had been so for the last six years. There was no doubt in her mind that the seventh would be the same, despite her decision to give him a month.

Imagine her surprise when he nodded politely to her and walked to the windows, his only comment, "Nice view we have."

---

"Why?" had been the first thing he asked. His father had only laughed at that, the silver eyes that his son had inherited glinting with something other than sanity.

"Why?" his father had mimicked back, his voice almost gleeful. "Why? Because this way I can insure your cooperation."

At that, Draco Malfoy's eyebrows had risen and his stomach had dropped. Cooperation for something his father thought he needed _this_ much insurance for must not be good.

Lucius Malfoy did not notice his son's distress, or if he did, he did not care. Either way, he figured that his son would do exactly as asked with this over his head. "Blaise was the obvious choice. He's not only your follower, but your seeming second in command. By upsetting this chain, I can insure you have to watch your back at school, and I can insure that you're well aware what will happen to _her_ should you choose to disagree with me."

"No father. I will not play along with this game." Draco let a smirk cross his face, showing confidence he did not really feel. "You see, you can't hurt her until the baby comes, and when that happens… How will you keep anything safe?"

Lucius' face had contorted in rage. He's sent a curse streaking towards his son, but Draco was no fool. A simple shield had blocked it, and a simple rebounding spell had left his father withering in the pain of his own curse.

He had somewhere near seven months to plan for this.

Kateeka Malfoy would be saved, as would her child. Her brother would make sure of that.

---

Hermione had waited for the almost pleasant nature that Draco was employing to end. Both of her best friends, Harry Potter (The Boy Who Lived) and Ron Weasley, thought that he was faking it in order to make her let her guard down.

Lavender Brown and Ginny Weasley, two of Hermione's best girlfriends, were of the opinion he'd finally found out that she was beautiful and that he was gaining her trust so that he could woo her.

Hermione herself thought something was wrong and nothing else but that one problem mattered.

Her guess would prove to be the correct one, though she didn't know what the problem was and she didn't know how right she was that nothing else but the problem mattered. Draco Malfoy had always been maybe half a point behind her their studies, but quick glances over at him in class showed that he was really starting to struggle. So, instead of trying to help him and making him angry with her, she took to doing her homework in the common room and asking him about what he did on his, even if she didn't need the help.

She never received one nasty comment about being too stupid to know these things, too stupid to know anything.

Instead, he'd come over and do the assignment for himself, or do an assignment for another class. Soon, he was getting all of his work in on time, and was almost back to his customary spot just a half a point behind her.

She didn't know if he knew what she was doing. She didn't truly care, as he was doing it and he was doing okay in the classes. She did wonder what could have made someone as smart as Draco forget that he needed to do his school work.

She didn't press for answers.

She still tutored many kids, some of them mass study groups for a class, some of them one on one. Instead of the library, unless they needed to be there for the resources, they used the Head Common Room.

Slowly, Hermione began to draw Draco into the studying sessions. She'd realized, when she'd asked him about his work to get him to do it, just how brilliant he was. He seemed to see everything differently than she did, but that hardly mattered as a different view was always good.

At first the students she taught had rebelled against the idea of him helping them. The Slytherin's put up the most part, to her surprise. It quickly dawned on her that they wouldn't want their Houses' most powerful seventh year to know that they sought not only a Gryffindor's help, but her help. Harry Potter's best friend's help.

Slowly, though, she talked them into it. Slowly, she brought Draco into the sessions. Slowly, people were coming for HermioneandDraco's help, not just Hermione's.

Death Eater attacks had slowly begun to grow in intensity. On Halloween, a small wizarding village that allowed Muggles to live in it was razed to the ground. While the Aurors managed to save many of the attacked people, they could not save everybody.

The next day, the Ministry of Magic finally conceded to Dumbledor. Tom Riddle, in the form of Lord Voldemort, had returned. Minister Fudge may have been a few years late, but he did concede, and Hogwarts could only celebrate this sadly.

The night after the attack, Hermione caught Draco scowling out into the night from one of the windows that decorated the far wall of their common room. The window in the very center ran from floor to ceiling and both of them had spent much time staring out it.

"Dray?" she'd asked quietly. She'd taken to calling him by his first name, that first night she'd asked for his help on her homework. It stood to reason she would have a nickname for him.

"Yeah, 'Mione?" he asked. He had returned the favor of using her first name, and she'd allowed him to shorten her name.

She didn't allow anyone else, including Harry and Ron, to do that.

"You okay?" she didn't ask what was wrong. She never did. He would tell her if he wanted. He knew she would listen. Instead she settled on making sure he was okay.

"No…" he said, lowly. "My father was there. Probably led the attack."

She could hear the faint '_the bastard_' under his breath. "You sure?"

He nodded. "He wouldn't be able to resist. That kind of thing just _draws_ him."

Hermione hadn't pushed, and he'd stopped talking. It was that day she realized something had truly changed in Draco Malfoy. She just didn't know what.

---

The Christmas holidays were approaching. While Ron and Harry went to The Burrow, Hermione was staying at school. It was too dangerous for Harry Potter's best friend to be alone in the muggle world, and she'd never deny someone else their holidays.

Several day's before everyone was leaving, Hermione entered the Head Common Room to find Draco in what she'd dubbed his thinking spot. He was standing in front of the large window, staring into the darkness that seemed to envelope them before the afternoon had even come.

Trying not to disturb him, she shut the door quietly and silently made her way to the right of the room. There were two doors there, one green and one crimson, the green one with the Slytherin crest on it, the crimson one with the Gryffindor crest. She had her hand on the handle to the Gryffindor door, the one that would lead to her House's common room, when he stopped her.

"'Mione…" his voice was tired. More tired than she'd ever heard it. "I need your help."

He turned to look at her. "Help me, please?"

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Authors Note: Hi! So, first fic in this section... Sorry if they seem a little OOC. More soon, /smiles/!


	2. Chapter Two

**Silver Glass**

**By**: UnperfectWolf

**Chapter Two:**

Hermione settled down in the bay window in her room, her mind turning over what Draco had just told her. She couldn't believe…

But yes, she could believe it. It would be just the thing that someone as evil and disgusting as Lucius Malfoy would do.

Sighing, she thought over everything again. She'd immediately told Draco she'd help, not needing a reason. The look he gave her was enough to convince her that it was important. She'd asked for the problem, expecting what, she didn't know, but definitely not _this_.

"I… It's my sister," he had said, quietly. "She's pregnant. And my father… He's planning on… _using_ her and the child as insurance so that I do what he ask."

Hermione had gasped, and then asked him to explain everything. His sister, Kateeka Lynn Malfoy, was just over two years their junior. She had never been allowed to attend school, though his mother had done her best to see she not grow up with out some knowledge.

Sometime last summer, right before school got out, she had been raped. He hadn't wanted to tell Hermione by who, nor why or how. He had, though, finally conceding when she pointed out that she'd need to know if she was to help.

"Blaise," he'd finally told her, spitting then name like poison.

Hermione had gasped. "He's your best friend!"

Draco had turned, giving her a hard look. "He was." He hadn't said anything more though she could tell he wanted to.

He did told her how. Told her of a weekend that Blaise had gone home to see a dying aunt. Told her how Lucuis had taken Blaise to their home, and allowed Blaise to rape his sister. Repeatedly.

She had ended up pregnant.

Now, six months later, Draco had finally come upon a plan to get the child out of the house. His sister would have to stay, at least for the time being.

When he'd finished telling her the plan he'd come up with, she'd retreated from the common room into her own room. Very Gryffindor, her room was mostly crimson, with gold accents. Sometimes, she found the room to be too much and retreated to the common room. Sometimes, she felt the colors over bearing. A reminder that she was supposed to always be brave, when most of the times she felt that she was a coward. Now was one of the times she felt that she wasn't brave enough for the colors that surrounded her to be her house colors.

With another sigh she raised her hand to frosted pane of glass between her and the outside world, her mind a mess of emotions and thoughts.

---

Everyone was leaving on Monday morning. On Saturday, Hermione got up early. She dressed in her nicer robes, not her dress ones, but her newest everyday robes. She wore muggle clothing beneath it, as it wasn't a school day.

She got to the common room as Draco was zipping up his robes. She glimpsed the muggle clothing he was wearing beneath it and raised an eyebrow.

Looking at her, he laughed. He'd chosen to wear muggle clothing because he knew she did on weekends, and felt that a show of solidarity was probably best.

They headed to the Great Hall, side by side. They were silent, except when a younger Hufflepuff raced by them. With out thinking, they both snapped out "No Running!" and Draco, the obstinate bastard he could be, added, "Five points from Hufflepuff."

When they entered the Great Hall, they spilt off, Hermione going over to sit at the Gryffindor table with her friends, and Draco going over to the Slytherin table, to fake through another breakfast of being Blaise Zabini's best friend. Neither were truly their selves, and while Blaise either ignored the fact that Draco was more pensive and a slight bit more snappy that morning, or didn't care, both Ron and Harry couldn't with Hermione. Later, they would look back with donning realization in their eyes, their jaws dropping ever so slightly…

But now, no one but the two Head's knew what was wrong, and neither of them were sharing. At least not yet.

As soon as she finished, Hermione rose. Seconds later, Draco was on his feet, following her out the doors. Side by side once again, they made their way through the still halls.

To Hermione, it felt like it was a last march, like it was them against the world. Like they were fighting a loosing battle.

She knew, deep inside her, that this was a good plan. She new, somehow, that everything would work out. What she didn't know was if she could survive in the meantime.

Eventually their path led them to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledor's office. This was, Hermione realized, the final battle of her last march. At that thought, a small smile flickered over her face. Sometimes it _was_ a battle, trying to remember what muggle candy or sweet was the password this week.

This time, it wasn't. Both of them knew the password. Both of them had the word engrained in their memories, because, should they forget, both silently doubted they could get up the nerves to return.

"Sweettart," Hermione told the gargoyle politely. It flicked it's tail at her, something she'd long come to understand as a wave, and swiveled to the side.

By the time they got to the top of the stairs, Albus Dumbledor was seated behind his desk. They didn't know how he did it, nor at the moment did they care, but he seemed to be able to get anywhere in Hogwarts many times faster than anyone else: he'd still been in the Great Hall when they left.

Dumbledor waved a had, motioning for them to take a seat in the high, wing-backed chairs that sat in front of his desk. They did so, though nervously.

"Lemon Drop?" he asked, extending a long arm to proffer the dish of candies to them. Both shook their head and stayed silent.

In all his years as Head Master, which numbered almost fifty now, he'd never seen a Head Girl and Boy so scared looking. He could see Hermione's resilience and Draco's self preservation kicking in, beginning to calm them, but he could still clearly see their nervousness. If their pasty complexions were anything to go on, their news was not good. Or, it had the potential to be bad, and they expected him to take it as so.

After a few minutes of silence, he decided to spur things into action. "Is there something you need to discuss, Ms Granger, Mr Malfoy?"

They shared a glance, and Hermione nodded. It wasn't blatant, and she might have even done it unconsciously, but Dumbledor noticed it. Draco did as well, and it was he who broke their stare and cleared his throat.

"Yes… Um, Head Master…" He looked over at Hermione and she nodded again. She'd obviously had to convince Draco that the Head Master was trustworthy of whatever information they'd be sharing.

Somehow, though, that didn't surprise the older wizard. Hermione Granger was amazing at finding small things that needed to be brought to light, finding things that would in turn save him, and often times the Order as well, time and energy trying to figure out how two things fit together.

It seemed that Draco trusted her, because he cleared his throat again. "We need your help, Head Master."

Dumbledor sat up a little straighter. He was listening.

---

"Let me see if I understand this," Dumbledor said. The two children- young adults really, he admonished himself –were a lot less tense now. Draco had explained his situation and what _they_ planned to do about it.

"You, Hermione, and you, Draco, are going to act as if you have been secretly dating since last spring, and as if you are expecting a child that was conceived last June. You will either say you used a concealment charm to hide the pregnancy or use a spy's charm to make it seem as if you are pregnant. When Kateeka's child is born, you will bring it back here as your own," he summarized the plan to the bare minimum.

The two in front of him nodded. He sat still until they began to fidget, then realizing what his stillness was doing to them, graced them with a small, tired smile.

"Time was," he told them, "that the children at Hogwarts were safe and could go through their time here with their biggest worry being their Potions exams and the coming Quidditch match."

With a sigh, the old wizard stood and walked over to one of his bookcases. "As that is no longer the case- you're current situation is proof of that, as is your friend, Harry's, situation –I will help you. I could no longer leave a young child in the grasps of Lucuis Malfoy then I could let you, Draco, attend Durmstrang."

Draco stiffened slightly. "What? You're the reason Father was made to send me here?"

Hermione watched the two with interest. She'd actually never seen Draco and Dumbledor converse.

Dumbledor nodded. "I am that very reason, young man." He pulled a thin, well worn book from the shelf. Returning to his desk, he held the book out to Hermione. "The spell you will be looking for is in here. Be careful with that book, please. It was a gift from Severus."

When Draco started, Hermione gave them both a very small smile. "I guess you think, with Draco fighting the Dark, he should join the Light?"

Dumbledor nodded to Hermione and turned his attention to Draco. "You will be, to everyone but you, me and Ms Granger, the father of Harry Potter's best friend's child. You will be, to the rest of the world, on the Light side. But I will not force you to fight for us. If you choose to though, I will allow Hermione to include you in everything that she is privy to."

Draco shot Hermione a curious glance. "Just what _is_ she privy to, Professor?"

Dumbledor allowed himself another tired smile, though there was a twinkle in his eye that gave both of the teenagers hope. "More than she probably should be, young man."

Draco raised an eyebrow, then leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. "I guess I'm fighting for the Light side." He paused, before explaining. "When I got - don't look so surprised I know he's here, 'Mione!" he scolded briefly when she started at that, before returning to his explanation, "When I got Dobby to take a message to Teek, she agreed to this plan under one condition: that she not get her child back, whenever it would be safe. She wants whoever will get the child to continue to raise it. And if they can't, she wants it to go else where. She _does not_ want to raise it. Ever."

He sighed. "And I don't blame her. It would just be a reminder of what happened, what her family is capable of." He looked up from where he had been staring at the floor. "And, as I plan to play it's father, I guess that means I would continue to after the war. I won't," he hurried to assure them, "insist that Hermione continue to play mother. But since I will continue to be the father, I want to make sure it's protected. To do so, I need to fight to get rid of what threatens it. Namely, the Dark Lord and his followers."

Hermione had been almost completely silent, save a few well placed questions that kept the conversation going, since she had arrived. Both men were shocked when she spoke up, having almost forgotten her now. "Voldemort is not the real threat to the child," she told them. "Not now, anyways. Not if it is Kateeka's. Once it becomes ours, it will, of course, become of interest to him simply because it is a Death Eater's rouge son's child as well as Harry Potter's best friend's child. At the moment though, it is Blaise who is the true threat to the child."

Draco had winced when she'd said the Dark Lord's name. Unlike Hermione, and even Harry, he had grown up in fear of what he and his followers could do. His name had been used to invoke fear and obedience. To use it was taboo. To hear it used caused those raised as witches and wizards, dark or light, to shiver in fear.

He was about to reply when Hermione continued. "And if I start this, I will not quit. I will continue to be the child's mother, no matter how short the time between it's birth and the death of Voldemort is. I will never abandon a child."

Draco did not shiver when she said the Dark Lords name. Instead, he and Dumbledor shared a look. Hermione Granger was a powerful witch. There was no doubt in either of their minds that she would be able to protect Kateeka Malfoy's child as Lilly Potter had protected Harry.

---

"So let me get this straight," Draco said, leaning back in his chair sometime later. Between the two of them, Dumbledor and Hermione had filled Draco in on the going ons of the Order, the things that Hermione had been officially told (Hermione had a few _minor_ things to add to it when they returned to their rooms) and what had really gone on in the school for the last six and a half years. "Severus Snape, my father's cousin, who attends all sorts of Death Eater conventions and rallies, is really on the Light side?"

Hermione laughed. Her laughed was lightly, and for the first time in a while, it sounded true to Draco. She found it hilarious that the fact that Harry Potter had stood up to Voldemort and actually lived, amongst other things, took second place to the fact that the dreaded potions master was in all actuality a spy. "Yes Draco. He's a member of the Order."

Dumbledor watched with an amused smile as Hermione explained _yet again_ how it was possible. He truly hadn't been paying as much attention as he should have to his Head Boy and Girl this year. With so much else going on, he had trusted in Hermione Granger's eternal patients and Draco Malfoy's self preservation to keep the two from killing each other.

He had planned, of course, to find a way for them to put aside their differences and work together on something. He would then have hoped and prayed that they would find some common ground and that the truce would then hold. With time, he would have hoped that the truce would extend to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

He had always felt a great sense of loss when he thought of the young Draco Malfoy. He'd felt that, even though he'd managed to get the boy to Hogwarts where both he and the boy's 'Uncle' Severus tried to show him just how untrue the Dark pathway's ideal's were, that the boy was lost.

Now, it seemed, all of the meddling and interfering that he could have planned would have never done what a threat to a small child had done. Draco and Hermione had found each other with out any outside source pressing them together.

A bond like this would last long and survive far more. In the meantime, he needed to find some way to rescue Kateeka Malfoy once her child had arrived.

------

**Author's Note:** Thank you, all of you who reviewed! This is actually the second version posted. I found a few… ah, errors in it. /smiles/

danradcliffe6656: the head's share a common room, which their rooms are connected to. They can access their House Common Rooms through magicked doors. Over used plot device, I know :)

Luna-Tunafish: I've never seen this plot line out there. Please email me (kennie1208 (at) yahoo (dot) com) or review with the links so that I can read them and adjust my plot line to be more original!

Also, hearts to: bigred20, Hali, TVrocks, dimondcrystal124


	3. Chapter Three

**Silver Glass**

**By**: UnperfectWolf

**Chapter Three**:

Monday morning, Hermione said goodbye to Harry and Ron at the front doors of Hogwarts. Under normal circumstances she might have gone with them to the train station, but the snow was coming down outside in hard, fast flurries and Draco had pointed out that while she could get there and back, it would not be something a pregnant woman would want to do. Hermione had smirked at that, and decided to stay at the school. Neither Ron or Harry had questioned her.

When she hugged them goodbye, she did so carefully. As if she was trying to keep her stomach from touching them. She played it just right: normal enough for them to ignore, but strange enough for them to think about later, when they looked back.

She stood in the doorway, her robes wrapped tightly around her, and watched her best friends leave. Snow swirled in the large doors, landing softly in her hair and on the smooth stone floor. She ignored it, thinking about what would happen when her friends returned. This was the last time that they would be Harry-Ron-Hermione, The Golden Trio. Because when they returned, Hermione would be through "hiding" her pregnancy.

Even now, she was wearing the charm. She had set the charm to make her appear in her sixth month. She was just beginning to 'show'. The charm would not be removed until she and Draco left the grounds to retrieve the child.

Now, she turned away and let the door shut behind her. She walked over to where Draco was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and crumpled against his chest, letting a few silent tears seep out of her eyes. This could be the end of the friendship she had cherish for years.

"It'll be alright, love," he told her.

Both of them noticed the fifth year Ravenclaw leaning against the wall not far from them, and the way his eyebrows rose. Draco and Hermione the couple had been spotted.

---

Lunch had been a quiet affair, students wandering in whenever they were hungry. Draco and Hermione had both been down to get something to eat, but for the most part they stayed secluded in their rooms.

Dumbledore had told them that they were going to have to tell their teachers the lie, and they were going to have to do it sometime over break. Neither of them were relishing the thought of it.

Both dressed in muggle clothing for dinner, Hermione's zipped up sweatshirt alluding to the slight swell that seemed to be her stomach. While she didn't quite feel fat yet, she knew she was going to begin to look it, and dreaded it. She did not, under any circumstances, want to be fat. And yet, here she was, wearing a semi permanent charm, to make herself appear pregnant.

Finally she gave up trying to make the sweatshirt lie flat and left her room to meet Draco in the common room. Draco smiled upon seeing her, and leaned over to brush a kiss across her cheek. "Thank you, for doing this."

Hermione looked up at him and all of her qualms disappeared. She was doing this to save a child. Who cared if she was going to look fat- a child would be saved by her acting with this charm.

As they walked towards the Great Hall, Draco took her hand. She looked up, slightly surprised, but he just shrugged. She gave him a gentle smile and squeezed his hand a little tighter.

They both knew that many of their teachers were very good at seeing details. It would be a limited time before they saw the effects of the charm, if one of them didn't get suspicious tonight. At least she and Draco holding hands and acting like a couple would at least alleviate fears that the child was Harry's. Or Ron's for that matter. No one really wanted to know what Molly Weasley would do to her son should he get a girl pregnant, anymore than they wanted to see a child that belonged to Harry before the fall of Voldemort.

The two entered the Great Hall almost late. Dinner wasn't on the table, though they could see that everyone else was waiting for it. Seeing that there were only two chairs left, they both concluded that dinner was waiting for them.

"Ah," said Dumbledore, a knowing twinkle in his eyes. "Here our two Head's are. And, with out further ado, Dinner Is Served."

Draco could feel many curious eyes on them as they slid into the two remaining seats. To his left was Hermione, who was seated next to a very young Hufflepuff, and to his right was the older Ravenclaw from that morning. No one said anything about their entrance, nor about the fact that they were holding hands. Then again, they hadn't expected anyone to say anything at dinner. What they were expecting was various people to approach them afterwards.

And, of course, they were right. They stood up together, getting ready to leave. As they said their goodnights, Severus Snape walked towards them, his brow furrowed. "A word, Ms Granger? You too, Mr Malfoy."

The two students nodded, following their potions Professor out of the Great Hall and down into the dungeons. They eventually passed the potions classroom and halted behind Snape as he murmured a password to a painting. It swung open to reveal his office.

As they entered, Draco and Hermione shared a glance. They had known that at least one person would put the little things together. That it was Snape was no surprise: to be a spy one must see everything very clearly, especially the little things.

He told them to sit, though he himself stood by the fire and look into it. It was many minutes before he decided to speak. "Why did you not tell me, Ms Granger?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I told no one but Draco, Professor."

Draco squeezed her hand. Hermione gave him a small smile.

"What if we had done something dangerous to the child in class? Any of them?" he asked, his voice tight with what, had they not known him better, one might call worry.

"I would have asked to speak with you privately and told you then. We agreed that that would be fine, though otherwise we wanted to wait until I started to show," the girl told him.

"And you, Mr Malfoy? What are you going to do about this?" Snape turned and started at his cousin's son, a boy he had long thought of as his nephew.

Draco looked at Hermione a long moment before turning to Snape. "Whatever she wants me to do. If, after we graduate, she wants to get married, we will. I won't force her into anything though."

To Snape, this sounded like a boy sweet talking his pregnant girlfriend, but to Hermione it meant something more. It meant that, despite that she had already said she would continue to be the child's mother, he did not expect, nor would he force her to, marry him. It was a relief, even though she'd never really thought he would.

"And Dumbledore knows?" Snape's question brought their attention back to him.

"Yes, sir. We have to speak to all of her professors before break is over," Draco told him.

Hermione could see Snape struggling to say something. A question, she realized, that he could not ask with out raising suspicions from someone outside of their counsel. She smiled softly. "Professor… He's safe. Dumbledore has decided to include him as much as he does Harry, Ron and I."

She could see the relief etched into his face when he turned around again. "Thank the Gods," he said, closing his eyes and leaning back against the mantle. "Thank the Gods."

Neither knew if he was referring to her being with someone in the Order's ranks, or Draco finally fighting for the Light. Neither bothered to ask.

---

The rest of the break went smoothly. They did talk to all of her Professors, Minerva McGonagall being the hardest, as her Head of House.

To say she had been shocked was to say that Voldemort was slightly evil. She had sat down suddenly, her face going pasty white. "Are you sure, Hermione?" she had asked, completely ignoring Draco.

Which was, of course, fine with him. After the reaction they had gotten from Hagrid, he was very happy to have everyone else ignore him. His arm still hurt from where the half giant had gripped it.

Hermione nodded to her Head of House. "Very, Professor."

"Gods, child…" she didn't finish, but they could all hear the end of it. _What were you thinking?_

Hermione smiled sadly. "I didn't want this to happen, Professor. But I made the decisions that led to it. I am responsible for it. I will have to do theory on some of the transfigurations you want us to do in the next few months, but after that I'll be able to resume class like normal."

McGonagall nodded. She turned her gaze to Draco then, and it sharpened considerably. "If I ever hear of you mistreating her, Mr Malfoy…" she didn't have to finish the sentence. Draco knew well enough that the threat was not an idle one.

"You have my word, Professor," he told her. His gray blue eyes were sincere and Hermione smiled over at him, squeezing the hand she held tightly.

Besides the professors, the twelve other students that had stayed for the break had to be dealt with. While they didn't notice her changing appearance at first, they did notice that the two of them had publicly begun to act as a couple, and they noticed fast.

It wasn't everyday that the Gryffindor Brain and the Slytherin Sex-God got together, now was it?

---

Albus Dumbledore sat before his fire, contemplating. He needed to find a way to get Kateeka out of her house and somewhere safe. The problem was, he didn't know how to do that.

Oh, he figured he could get her out of the house easy enough. The anti-apperation wards that the Malfoy's had were strong, but not the best. Someone like Dumbledore, even with out help, which he would have to get Kateeka, could break them.

The real problem was, where to keep her once they got her?

He stood up and moved over to poor himself a drink. He rarely indulged in alcohol, but sometimes you just _needed_ to. This was one of those times.

As he returned to his seat, his mind wandered back over the last six and a half years. They had been interesting, to say the least.

Of course, with Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, as a student, it would be too much to ask for a dull, quiet seven years. But he supposed, ultimately, it was for the best. At least Harry had a chance to learn more advanced things inside the walls of Hogwarts where his chances of survival were much higher. At least he had Hermione Granger to do the research and form plans for him, and Ron Weasley to strategize with him. He didn't know what the boy would have done with out them. Quite frankly, he _didn't_ want to know.

He regretted that the Gryffindors and the Slytherins had been such enemies. At one time, they hadn't been. Inter-House rivalry was at an all time high at the moment, thanks to Harry and Draco. While he knew Harry would be willing to throw aside the years and work to bring down Voldemort, he wasn't so sure Ron would be, or the rest of the Gryffindors.

But the Gryffindors would eventually come around. They would see how the others acted, they would see Hermione Granger and how happy she was… They would form bonds and begin to trust the returning Slytherins. He also knew that the Slytherins would either follow their leader, Draco, to the light side, or they would not. Those that would not were lost for sure.

The thought saddened him. He wondered which one's were too far gone to save.

---

The day that everyone was due back began with Hermione pacing restlessly through the Head Common Room. Draco stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what he could do to help her.

"What are they going to say, Dray? I mean, they know that you've changed, that you and I are closer, but they… They'll hate me for this! And I have to lie to them. I can't let them know. The more who do, the greater the chance that this fails," she ranted.

She went on like that, for more than a hour. Draco finally tired of the repetitive nature of her voiced thoughts and, once he decided to do something about it, he quickly moved to her, dropping a soft kiss to her lips.

She stopped talking and froze, her eyes wide. "What…" she started to question him.

Draco smirked at her, though the smirk was strangely different than the one she had been so used to seeing for so many years. This one was playful, and his eyes were no long cold pools that caused her to shiver in fear, but a soft silver color that drew her to them. "You were repeating yourself, love."

He'd taken to calling her love the first day of break and hadn't stopped since. He still called her 'Mione, especially when they were talking with others, but in private he usually called her love. Somehow that made her feel _warm_.

Now, though, she was still staring at him. "Draco…"

He's smirk turned into a soft smile. "Yes, love?"

"I…" she couldn't seem to speak, though she had been ranting well enough before. Draco leaned down and kissed her lightly again.

"If this is the reaction I get when I kiss you, I'd have started years ago," he told her when he pulled away.

Hermione's shocked look began to melt away, turning into a grin. "Really now?"

"Really," he told her, wrapping his arms around her. "'Mione," he told her, "they'll never hate you. You're their best friend. They love you- they can't hate you."

"But I betrayed them…" she whispered hoarsely. "I fell in love with their worst enemy, remember?" she raised an eyebrow, her soft brown eyes sad.

"Yes, but you turned their enemy to the Light side, remember?" he asked, nuzzling the side of her face gently.

Hermione sighed. She wondered if Draco knew what he was talking about, and then promptly began to sincerely hope he did.

---

Hermione was waiting for them when they entered the school. Draco and she had figured that, in light of the fact that their couplehood would be around the returning students in less than three minutes, and her pregnancy around it in probably less, that she should talk to Harry and Ron as soon as they got back.

The older students who had stayed for the break had quickly figured out what all of the teachers had been whispering about, and soon even the youngest of the children there had know that Hermione was pregnant with Draco's child. While many of them didn't get the implications of this, they did get that this was _Big News_.

Both Harry and Ron looked surprised when she only gave them a small, shy smile before pulling them towards the stairs. She hurried them to the room of requirements, where Draco waited.

Both of the boys stiffened when they saw him, for despite that he had been civil all year, they still expected him to attack them. Hermione sighed when she saw this, knowing her job had just gotten harder.

"Harry, Ron… I need you to listen to me, okay?" she asked. They nodded and she smiled again, the same small, shy smile.

The smile put Harry on edge immediately. Something was wrong, though just what he didn't know. He eyed her, taking her slightly changed form, and the light began to come on in his eyes. For Ron's part, he was oblivious, though he did eye Draco with mistrust.

Hermione could see a donning realization in Harry's eyes and sighed. "While you were gone, Draco joined our side. He's been briefed by Dumbledore and myself on everything that's happened up until now."

Getting _that_ out would maybe, perhaps, soften the blow.

Of course, while Ron's eyes widened and he stared at her, flabbergasted, Harry saw right through it. "And just why did he decided to do this?"

Hermione looked at Draco and nodded. He smiled softly at her, before looking Harry in the eye. "To protect her. And our child." He placed his arms around her, one of his hands resting on her stomach.

Harry closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Hermione could see his effort to calm himself, and sighed in relief. She turned her head and leaned against Draco.

From the doorway they heard two identical gasps. Turning, the young men watched in horror as Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister and one of Hermione's best girlfriends, along side Pansy Parkinson, Draco's best friend, practically ran to Hermione.

"You're preganat? Oh, oh! Whe are you due? Do you know what sex it is?" Ginny began to ramble then, faster than the boys wanted to try and comprehend.

Pansy was right with her. "What about names? Have you thought of any? Where will you stay?"

Hermione laughed and slipped her arms around the two women in front of her. She didn't care if one of them had been her enemy for years. She was Draco's best friend and she and Draco had discussed the Slytherin alliances at length. Pansy Parkinson would follow Draco Malfoy if he fought for the light side. So would Vincint Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Millicent Mulstrode. The other's he wasn't sure about, but he figured it was about half and half.

Draco backed away from the three, a small smile on his face. He knew that at the moment, this was good for her. To have someone support her, to be happy for her. His smile widened as Ginny and Pansy's arm's went around each other and they hugged. It might have been their happiness for Hermione, but they had put aside their House differences and their past, at least for the moment.

He looked over at Harry, who cautiously moved around the girls to come stand next to Draco. "If you hurt her, Malfoy, I swear…"

Draco snorted. "You'll have to stand in line, Potter. All of the students who stayed over break and all of the teachers have warned me. Dumbledore didn't, but I'm sure it was implied somewhere along the line. Snape and McGonagall would probably be first to hex me, gauging by the seriousness of their threats."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "Snape? McGonagall I can understand, but Snape?"

Draco rolled his eyes and was about to reply when Ron stalked over to them. He eyed the red headed boy warily, but stayed still.

"If you hurt her Malfoy…" Draco gave him a look. What was it with people and their threats?

"There won't be a piece of me bigger than a toenail by the time this school is done with me. Don't worry," he told Ron.

Beside him, Harry snorted. Somehow he didn't think it was in disbelief.

------

**Author's Note:** Thank you, all of you who reviewed! Sorry about the miss-spellings and the weird things that have popped up in here. In truth, I don't know about Anti-Apperation wards and how strong they are and how to break them… I'm just assuming that if a wizard is greater than the one who put the ward up, he can break them. This is one of the longest chapters I've written, ever. Seven pages. Not bad, considering!

Silver Eyes Bright: er, yes… sorry about that. They probably will be ooc. If it bothers you now, you might not want to read further (I'm aware this chapter was bad too…)

Lady Idhril: details… hummm… what do you mean. More plot background?

Hearts To: sweetie87, danradcliffe6656, whacked, lazy, colorguard06, RoxySurferGurl623, tankbbg

x-posted: (lj)unperfectwolf, (lj communities)dramione, dracoxhermione, dracohermione


	4. Chapter Four

**Silver Glass**

**By**: UnperfectWolf

**Chapter Four**:

Lavender Brown was not the gossip hound that so many thought she was. Nor was she only into the latest fashions. In fact she was actually quite perceptive, which was one of the reasons she could usually tell the difference between gossip and things that could have merit.

When she heard the words _Draco and Hermione_ and a few seconds later _she's pregnant_ buzz through the crowd, her eyes sought out her friend. All she saw was the retreating back of Ginny and Pansy, together.

They weren't headed in the direction of the Gryffindor tower, nor the Slytherin dungeons and she knew, with out a doubt, that they were headed towards the Room of Requirements. She saw Millicent, a friend of Pansy's, start after them and moved quickly to her side.

"I know where their going," she said, her voice low.

Millicent looked over at her for a second, almost in disbelief, and then nodded. "Should we bring anyone else?"

Lavender shrugged. "She led Harry and Ron off, and I'm assuming Draco's with her. Ginny and Pansy are on their way. Who else needs to come?"

Millicent thought a moment. "Crabbe and Goyle."

Lavender nodded. "Go get them. Meet me down that hallway and I'll lead," she told her, nodding towards the hallway the bigger girl had been headed towards before.

The other girl disappeared and Lavender smoothly left the crowded entry way. Not a minute later, three people approached her. "Quietly, okay? We don't need to attract any attention, right?"

They caught her drift and she began to lead them up a set of moving staircases. They had to get off and then get on another set before they reached the correct floor and hallway. When they did, they could just see the door closing on Ginny and Pansy. "We wait here. No one else needs to go in."

They agreed, though barely. She could tell the two boys wanted to find their leader, and she could see the curiosity in the other girl's gaze.

They didn't have to wait too long for the group of six to exit the room. Pansy and Ginny were questioning Hermione, though they seemed slightly subdued about it. Draco's glare or Hermione completely ignoring them might have been the cause, but Lavender didn't take the time to find out.

"Hermione!" she smiled at her, and got one in return. Draco looked at her suspiciously, though he didn't say anything. Lavender was grateful- she'd been on the receiving end of his wrath far too many times in the past few years.

---

They were the last ten students to enter the Great Hall for dinner. Every eye turned towards them when the door opened, lending to their dramatic entrance. It didn't look planed, though it did look like something from a muggle action flick.

Draco and Harry walked side by side. Beside Draco, Hermione walked, her right left hand in his right. Ron walked next to Harry. Goyle stood just behind Hermione with Pansy and Millicent. Ginny and Lavender walked behind Ron, Crabbe with them.

Even if no one had ever seen something like this before, they were well aware of what it was: a show of force.

By entering the hall together like that, they showed that not only was Draco standing by Hermione through whatever of the rumors were true, but their Houses were as well. With the leaders of Slytherin and Gryffindor walking into the hall together on their own, the message was very clear: _you mess with them you mess with us_.

That they weren't only alluding to Draco and Hermione was obvious. That the Gryffindors and the Slytherins were now allies was there for all to see. Even the youngest of the students could grasp this, though maybe not the significance of it. They hadn't truly known what Draco Malfoy was like, what he was capable of, though they'd heard the tales. They knew that his father was a Death Eater (something _everyone_ knew) and that he had most likely been taking after him. Until this year. This year was different, and no one knew why, until now.

The group stopped in the middle of the room, ignoring the stares. Harry said something to Draco in a low voice that didn't travel farther than the few people in their group, and Hermione smirked. No one could guess what he was saying.

Before the group could separate and adjourn to their own tables, two groups of people approached them: the House Leaders of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

Per usual, both Leaders were boys. House Leader wasn't a position the school gave. No one told anyone "You're the new leader of the House." It was something that was passed on because the rest of the House would follow said person's directions. There were no rules saying the House Leaders needed to be boys. They just were. It wasn't something that House's consciously chose.

With each of the two Leaders came at least one boy and one girl. Like the Leader always being a boy, there was always a girl whom he trusted who became, if she hadn't been already, the Leader of the girls. Because the girls often found themselves more reserved and uninvolved in what the boys were planning, having a Leader who wasn't afraid to tell the Leader what they thought was a must. With a person who was in the House Leader's inner circle as their leader, in his confidences, they had more say and they were more likely to do what the Leader decided. It was the reason that the girl's leader was often the most powerful of the two leaders: the threat of the girls ignoring the guys and doing their own thing usually helped sway any indecision.

While the younger years were aware of the House Leaders, they didn't quite know what they were. No one called them House Leaders outright, since the Perfects were technically the leaders of the Houses. No one deferred from a perfect to a leader while the perfect was asking for something. No one had to: the perfects knew to talk to the leader first, and that was just how it was. And had been for hundreds of years.

Now, the whole school watched as the four leader's met. The girls immediately converged on Pansy and Hermione, the Slytherin and Gryffindor girl's leaders, and seemed to hold a conference. With in a minute, all four were grinning and Ginny, Lavender and Millicent had been pulled into the group. The boys were a bit more reserved. They eyed each other, unsure, but eventually got to the point. Neither Ravenclaw nor Hufflepuff would make any trouble for Draco or Hermione.

This meant they had the support of not only their own Houses', but all four.

Nothing like this had happened in centuries. Slytherins and Gryffindors just didn't get along, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff sided with Gryffindor more often than not, if only because the Gruffindor's went out of their way to protect the members of the other two houses from the Slytherins.

Now though, all four leaders had struck a truce. With Gryffindor and Slytherin working together, the other two houses had had no choice. They were too powerful, commanded too much respect and fear, and had too many smart minds in them. Should they have chosen to oppose them, the other two houses would have fallen, and quickly. The Gryffindors and Slytherins might not have been able to bring one another to their knees, but together they would have been able to destroy any sort of order the other House's had with in days.

As he returned to his seat, Justin Flinch-Fletchley, the leader of the Hufflepuffs, wondered how long someone standing against the combined forces of the four Houses of Hogwarts would stand. Not long, he decided.

A smirk went over his face. _Eat this, Voldemort_.

At the head table, Dumbledore was smiling. The sorting hat was never wrong.

---

Snape watched his long time friend and employer with skepticism as he waited for his co-worker to arrive. "You thoroughly enjoyed that, didn't you?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Quite. You have to admit, they put on a good show."

Snape rolled his eyes, but the figure entering the room snorted. "Of course they did. They're Harry Potter, and his followers, and Draco Malfoy, and his followers. Were you expecting them to do a bad job?"

Snape turned and eyed the Werewolf. Remus Lupin had returned to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class for Harry's seventh year. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the war was coming, and coming fast.

That had spurred Dumbledore into hiring a few other people as well. Bill Weasley was one of them, there to teach Cures Breaking. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was there to teach Advanced Protection. He and Snape had been attempting to reintroduce Dueling. The Weasley twins who Snape, though he hated them, had to admit were excellent potions students, had decided to teach a class every Saturday morning called Fast Fizzies. Fast Fizzies, they had explained, were potions that could be made in ten minutes or less out of everyday things that were helpful in emergencies.

As Lupin took the seat next to Snape, Dumbledore smiled at them. "No, I wasn't. I'm afraid they'll be expected to keep it up, though."

Snape snorted. "They'll do it. Of course we'll see what happens behind closed doors, but to the rest of the school they'll hold their united front."

Lupin raised an eyebrow at Snape's seeming disgust, but turned back to Dumbledore. "You seemed smug at dinner…" he left the rest of the sentence off, but it was obvious, even if you weren't skilled at reading minds. _Care to tell us why?_

Dumbledore leaned back in his seat. "I have never seen Hogwarts as a united force. Ever. The last time that the whole school came together was in the 1300's, when they fought to control the Black Plague. It, as you know, was an only slightly successful endeavor, and many of them died. This only added fuel to the fire and the Houses were soon fighting again, and worse than ever…"

He stared into the fire beside them. It was awhile before he spoke, and both of the younger men waited patiently. "The song that the sorting hat sang the year that I came to Hogwarts told us that one of us, and only one of us, would see the Houses united again. That was many years ago, though I hadn't forgotten." He looked up at his teachers. "I just never thought it possible."

Both Snape and Lupin were surprised. Albus Dumbledore, the man who never thought anyone was lost for good, had thought that the Houses' would never reconcile their differences?

---

"So tell me again, Hermione, why it had to be _him_?" Ron asked her.

Hermione was sitting in the Head Common Room, on one of the couches. Harry sat in a chair near her, and Ron stood pacing in front of them. "Because, Ron, I fell in love with _him_."

"And all this time, him being nice to you, and you not knowing why… That was a sham? This was why?" he asked, still confused and feeling almost betrayed. He'd been questioning her like this for awhile now. It still wasn't nay clearer than it had been at the beginning.

"Yes," Hermione told him for what felt like the seventy-fifth time.

Ron sighed. "I still don't get it."

That made Hermione laugh. It wasn't really that funny, but she needed to loose some of the tension in the room, and laughing seemed to be the way to do it. "Ron, if you don't get it, you don't get it. That's okay."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. Hermione had always felt that everyone should try and understand _everything_. Nothing should be left un-understandable and everything should have its how, why, when, where, and who clearly labeled on it for everyone to see.

Ron was thinking along the same lines as Harry, though not for the same reason. He figured, if she felt like this now, she'd feel like it later, and when he didn't get something for class she'd just leave him alone instead of making him slog through hours of work.

She'd stopped letting them copy sometime in fourth year and ever since then had stood behind them, watching them like a task master, making sure they got it right but not telling them what _was_ right until they go it.

He saw this as an escape from that.

Harry saw it was a huge change in the girl that he'd spent the last six and a half years with. He'd never known a pregnant woman, so he supposed it could be that, but he didn't know. He hoped she'd be back to normal soon.

------

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews, guys. And thanks for waiting. Now that winter break is over, finals are coming fast and I have four separate projects due before them, not counting the six essays. So, things will come slower.  
It didn't help that I tried writing this chapter somewhere upwards of five times and just didn't like how it was turning out. This is the best of them, though I'm not so sure I like it. Let me know. And yes, I'm well aware it's OOC. I'm sorry, if that bothers anyone. I personally feel that for Draco and Hermione to get together, no matter how _well_ it's done, it'll be OOC. Mine may be just a little bit more so, but that's because I started after they'd already changed. I skipped it! So, sorry if that bothers anyone.  
And if the whole "political" side of the Houses really bother's anyone, I'm sorry. I juts based it off my experiences with school rivalries and my friends' experiences with boarding school and such. If you really don't like it, you can tell me, but it won't amount to much!  
Sorry this was so long!

RoxySurferGurl623: well, I read THE TWENTY (see my fav's list for it) and fell in love with nice!Pansy, or at least notaslut/whore/bitch!Pansy, so… Yeah.

Tankbbg: the more people in the charade, the more who can leak it out. Keeping it to THREE people, and considering who they are, is what they feel is safest. They may tell others, but for the moment they need to _not_ tell the teachers.

Silver Eyes Bright: don't be sorry. If you don't like it, don't read it. I won't hold it against ya /smile/

Jailee: sorry I can't keep spoiling you…

Hearts To: Yilua, MrsGabriellaMalfoy, fieryred20, TVrocks

x-posted: (lj)unperfectwolf, (lj communities)dramione, dracoxhermione, dracohermione, quietones


	5. Chapter Five

**Silver Glass**

**By**: UnperfectWolf

**Chapter Five:**

During the day, Draco and Hermione put on a show of expecting parents and a happy couple. They sat together during classes and at meals, and Draco walked her to and from her classes.

At night, Hermione and Draco talked. Most of the time it was about nothing of importance, about school or about their childhood. Kateeka was never mentioned.

They decided not to tell his parents for obvious reasons, but hers were another matter. For the first time since she had found out she was a witch she was glad her parents were muggles. The howler her mother would have sent otherwise would have scarred everyone in the great hall for life. As it was, Hermione was not looking forward to her next visit home, though the thought of having a child to sooth her mother's anger did help a little.

They were waiting. As it grew closer to the eighth month of Kateeka's pregnancy they grew more agitated. Their worry for their plan increased and their worry for Dumbledore's unknown plan to get Kateeka out of the house seemed to grow by the minute.

When Dobby came to tell them that Leek, a house elf from the house where Kateeka had been secluded for her pregnancy, had come to tell him that she was in labor, they sprang into action with welcome relief.

Hermione was finally allowed to release the pregnancy charm, which was a relief. She was now helping Kateeka give birth to the child she would be taking as her own.

To make it so that she knew very little, Hermione was posing as a midwife, wearing a glamour charm. She knew a lot about mediwitchery, so it wasn't a complete lie, but Hermione felt bad disillusioning the girl. She already had enough trouble as it was though, and she was almost certain to have more once her father realized she'd given birth a few weeks early and that the child was gone.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that she did, considering her age. Teenagers were what the muggles termed "at risk" pregnancies and so forth had the risk of giving birth early and having complications.

Fortunately for all involved, while she gave birth three weeks early, Kateeka didn't have any complications. The labor was short, a mere four and a half hours. They were all grateful, as they could see the pain that Kateeka was going through, not just physically but emotionally. She was bringing a child that was the product of a rape upon her into the world. It wasn't something that any woman would relish, least of all a sixteen year old girl.

As soon was the child was born, Hermione had sent it with Dobby and Leeks to be cleaned up. In very few minutes, the child was clean and handed to Draco. With their help, she cleaned up Kateeka and the room, and put the girl to bed with a dreamless sleep potion.

When she awoke, Leeks would tell her what had happened, that the child had been taken by somebody. She wouldn't say who. She wouldn't know who. And she wouldn't be lying.

She'd never been introduced to Hermione for that reason, and with Hermione under a glamour spell, she wouldn't be able to identify her visually.

It was well past midnight when Draco double-apparated them just outside of the Hogwarts grounds. It took them very little time to make their way to Dumbledore's office, where he was waiting. Vaguely both of them wondered how he knew when to go to his office, when he was needed, but at the moment neither cared.

They reported to him then, though neither said very much. Dumbledore considerately sent them on their way and told them that the next day, Thursday, was theirs.

When they were gone, he tied a note to his owl's leg and sent her on her way. His plan was now in motion.

---

They were both now eighteen. In the muggle world they would have been considered legal adults, no longer dependants. In the wizarding world they would not be their own legal guardian until they graduated.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't matter. But it did. And it wasn't just because they were now parents themselves. They had to worry about what would happen once Draco's parents found out about Kateeka's child going missing and about Hermione having their grandchild. While the little girl child would not be the next Malfoy heir, something that could only be passed down to a son, she would be the first child, and a daughter, of Draco Malfoy, something that held almost as much power in it's own right.

Dumbledore had helped the two of them prepare a petition to the Ministry of Magic in Britain to become their own guardians. They had done fairly well on it so far, and as soon as he had word of the impending birth, Dumbledore had sent their notice of petition to the ministry.

The results would hopefully be that they would become their own persons and be able to control their own actions. While having a child was a good argument for it, it was also a good argument against it. That they were irresponsible enough to have the child could turn the tide.

Their lucky break was, as Hermione pointed out, Lucius Malfoy didn't know about the child and this wasn't America: he didn't have to be notified either.

When word of Gwynavere Nacissa Anne Malfoy hit the Great Hall in the morning, it spread like a wild fire. It took less than a full minute before the whole of Gryffindor knew she'd been born, and less than five minutes for them to all know her name was Gwynavere. In less than fifteen minutes every child in the entire school knew that Hermione's child had come two days before her due date.

Of course, the last part was a lie. But Hermione and Draco had thought about it for a long while before deciding that they wouldn't tell anyone the due date. They told them that they knew, though they _were not talking. _They were, of course, well aware of the chance that the birth could come early, and if no one knew the due date, they could say the child was born much closer to it that it truly had been.

They made an appearance at dinner, having had a house elf bring breakfast and lunch to the Head's common room. When they entered the great hall, the talking stopped momentarily before cheering erupted.

Gwyn started at the sound and began to cry. Much to the amusement of others, Draco was the one who got the scathing look for it, and he did quell under said glare. Of course, when she let the glare sweep out over the rest of the hall, the volume level dropped greatly. It wasn't just Draco who didn't want to be on the receiving end of Hermione Granger's wrath.

Snape commented to Flitwick that if having Hermione Granger glare at them was all it took to make them quiet down, he wanted her to patent and sell it, because it was obviously worth a lot of money to be able to almost silence that many teenagers. Flitwick told him if he could figure out how to do that for Hermione's look he should invest, because he would make nearly just as much with his scowl.

Draco and Hermione settled on sitting at the Gryffindor table, but with several Slytherins in attendance. The actual act of eating didn't last long because everyone wanted to see Gwynavere.

On a normal day, by the time the food was cleared away most of the children had left the room. Tonight was different. Very few of the students had left, and most of the Professors were there as well. When it seemed like everyone had seen Gwyn and given their congratulations to Draco and Hermione, the flood would start again as a new group approached.

They had been there for a quite a while when the two decided that they'd had enough. They politely excused themselves and left the room, hoping that everything they did wouldn't be like that.

---

Within a week, Gwyn was part of the castle life. There was never a shortage of babysitters and there was never a shortage of people willing to help whichever parent had her at the moment do something. While the teachers watched, one child brought the four Houses of Hogwarts together in much tighter way than ever before.

The Ministry had responded to Dumbledore's owl immediately, requesting that the petition be held the following week, on Wednesday. They would come to Hogwarts, as it was during the school year, and asking two students to leave the school wouldn't sit well with many benefactors.

The three officials who came to judge whether or not the two would be granted emancipation were none other than Percy Weasley and two of his coworkers. The fact that they had gotten someone directly from the Minister's staff didn't seem to bode well for their general feeling of the petition, though Hermione hoped that her personal connection to Percy would help.

On the morning of the petition, Hermione paced nervously. Draco smiled at the reminder of the time when she'd told her best friends. She'd been ready to accept the worst, and it had turned out better than either could believe. Maybe it was a sign that things just might go well for them.

When it was time, the two walked down together. Hermione was cradling Gwyn in her arms and Draco kept his hand at the small of her back, comforting both her and himself. They entered the room that had been given to the ministry officials for the time precisely on time, and not a second before. They both walked with their heads high and their body's giving off an air of pride and knowing. They were the Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts, an elite wizarding school. They were also the House of Slytherin's Leader and his girlfriend, who also happened to be the mother of his child as well as the best friend of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. And as a witch and a wizard they were nothing to cough at: they each had a great deal of power themselves.

The two officials with Percy Weasley were older, balding men. It figured that they would send men, not women. Women would have been more sympathetic to them, if only slightly.

The men stood when they entered the room. The one who seemed to be leading the group, a slightly overweight wizard with graying hair and spectacles, harrumphed and introduced himself. "I'm Grum Wood, Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger. This is Mackabry Taffleburn and Percy Weasley."

Hermione nodded. "How do you do, sirs?" she greeted them politely.

Draco shook their hands, but Hermione didn't relinquish her hold on her daughter to do so.

"And who is this?" Wood asked, his curiosity piqued. It wasn't often you saw children this small at Hogwarts. He was sure he'd have seen an announcement if one of the teachers was expecting.

Hermione smiled at him, and stepped forward to allow him a better view of the young child. Draco stepped up next to her, his hand returning to the small of her back in a protective gesture. "Gwynavere Malfoy, sir," he told them.

"Malfoy?" Percy started, allowing the exclamation out. Hermione knew that to be a sign of how much it truly rattled him, as he rarely did or said anything before thinking it through, though that didn't count his argument with his parents that had happened a few years before, leaving things strained between them all even now.

Hermione nodded, glancing up at Percy. "She was born just a week ago, sirs. So excuse me if I might seem slightly tired still." Her eyes were focused on Ron's older brother, though she spoke to all of the ministry officials.

Draco rubbed her back gently, and she leaned into him, something that was not lost to either of the older men. While they held no love for teenagers who got themselves into the mess, they did know who the two young adults in front of them were. They knew, as did everyone, that Hermione Granger was said to be the smartest witch or wizard since Minerva McGonagall, and maybe even Albus Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy was the son of Lucius Malfoy, renegade Death Eater, someone who had Cornelius Fudge firmly in his pocket.

They didn't like the prospects of a mini-Lucius, especially when it was rumored that Draco was ever more powerful than his father. From the looks of things, Hermione Granger might just be the person to keep that from happening.

They also knew exactly what Lucius would do if he knew about this child. It was obvious he didn't know. With Draco still legally his charge, getting the child to be under his name would take very little doing. They, under no circumstances, could let that happen.

Percy Weasley, on the other hand, was not thinking along those lines. All he knew was that his younger brother's friend, a _Gryffindor_, had just told him that she had just had Draco Malfoy's child.

When he finally comprehended that, the only words he could think to say were, "My mother's going to shit a brick."

-----

**Thanks to:** YunieChan for her wonderful beta'ing. She's so cool /gives loads of cookies/. By being my beta, she gets sneak peeks too! heh

**Authors Notes:** This took a while to get out. Blame finals. Because I hate them. I hate them so much that I am about ready to literally tear apart my American government book. It should come faster now, since finals are over this week. Then I should have time to do what I like, instead of invading Starbucks for hours on end with my class mates to figure out just what out notes say now that it's been months since we took them. Anyways. Also, through the lj community fandomaid, expect several short fics in various genres. At least one dracohermione fic as well, because _that_ one is written. /smirk/

_**Remember,**_ any and all feedback, good or bad, harsh or sweet, is welcome. flames are too, though I have found sevral lovely sets of "flamers guidelines" that you might want to read over. the links to said sites can be found on my site, at edadotspilt-applejuicedotcom.

**Hearts To:** (_ff.n_) Jenalei, x1nfernal, RoxySurferGurl623, fieryred20, BeckiSoup, tankbbg, danradcliffe6656, MrsGabriellaMalfoy - (_lj_) buttonmommy1998, pap3rh3art, 24639cindy, yuniechan, shagsthedustmop, starfaerie, chriself, kphoebe

Lady Idhril: I hope to have more bg info on their "friendship" in the later chapters, but sit tight for now!

nomes: yes, was one of the better lines, neh?

mattmatt: I really enjoyed you're thoughts, thanks for giving me the mini debate! I took what you said and thought about it, and I quite agree.

x-posted: quietonesdotorg, fanfictiondotnet, (lj) unperfectwolf, (lj communities) dramonie, dracohermione, dracoxhermione, quietones


	6. Chapter Six

**Silver Glass**

**By**: UnperfectWolf

**Chapter Six:**

Percy's prediction wasn't all too far off. Now that their reason for them gaining emancipation was in the open at the Ministry, it would be hard to find someone there who didn't know of Gwyn Malfoy by the end of the day.

Molly Weasley sent Hermione a very long howler. Later, several girls would be heard making comments on the fact that while she sounded sincerely upset over who Gwyn's father was, she also managed to sound relieved. The general consensus was that she was grateful it wasn't Ron's.

Relief wasn't, however, what the rest of the wizarding world seemed to be feeling. As far as most of the wizards and witches in Britain were concerned, Something Big had happened. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, a known Death Eater, had not only taken a Muggleborn as a girlfriend, but had fathered a child with her, and was _claiming_ the child as his. This was not only unexpected, but Very Good News. That meant that the newest generation was not near as a prejudiced as the ones before them. Many hopes were put on this pairing to turn the tide in the war.

Neither Draco nor Hermione were aware that Lucius Malfoy had demanded to see both Draco and Gwyn barely twelve hours after they had spoken to the Ministry officials. If Draco had not been awarded emancipation, Dumbledore would have had to allow Lucius to see them. As it was, he took great joy in refusing.

Since his return from Azkaban, Lucius Malfoy had become an even greater evil than he had been before. Before he'd gone to prison, Draco might have known subconsciously that his father wasn't exactly up to par on the Great Father scale, but he wasn't too bad to Draco. But once he'd returned, things had Started Happening. Draco would wake up bruised like he had been in a fight and lost badly, but he'd have only a hazy recollection of fists flying from the night before. His sister got raped, though he didn't know that until later. His mother ran into walls and fell down stairs far too often. He broke his arm over the summer and had no clue as to how he did it.

That is, until he worked a bit of magic upon himself that upped his resistance to memory charms. The answer to all his and his mother's mysterious bruises all lay with his father, who would fly into a rage with out provocation, taking whatever it was he was feeling out on his family.

Lucius Malfoy was a loose cannon ball, and he had his sights set on Hogwarts.

-

Things seemed to settle down a week or so after news of Gwyn escaped Hogwarts, though for the first bit the two Heads had taken to staying indoors for fear of assault by either a reporter or someone who felt their relationship should cease to exist. They were, for a bit, the hottest topic in Northern Europe and the United Kingdom's wizarding world.

Two weeks after Gwyn was born, there was another large-scale Death Eater attack. This time it was on a small wizarding community called Derdown, not far from Hogwarts. It was populated mostly by muggleborns and their families, and had incorporated many muggle things into their everyday life. This time around, few escaped. The message was clear.

The school was in shock. Some of the children had family that had lived there, and many of the residents had been former students. Those that survived were offered shelter within the school, and few turned the offer down. A wing that wasn't used was allocated to them.

Two days after the attack, Harry came to Hermione for help. "We need to start the DA up again" he told her, not leading up to the thought at all. She nodded.

"We do, your right" she told him. "But not the DA. We need to include everyone, well, everyone we think safe to include. And we need to have the younger children do other things to help them. We _all_ need to know how to defend ourselves." She fell silent, and for a few minutes the two sat in silence.

Finally, she looked at him. "Call the Others together, and talk to them about it."

Harry nodded. It was a good idea, to have the help of the other Leaders. "You can have the meeting here, if you like" she waved her hand around the Head Common Room. "It's secure."

The next Saturday Draco, Harry, Justin Finch-Fletchey and Terry Boot, the Leader of Ravenclaw, met in the Head's Common Room. They had just sat down when the door opened again and Hermione entered, followed by Pansy, Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. They laughed at the boys' surprised expressions.

"You didn't think you'd get anything done with out us, did you" Lisa asked them.

And, it turned out, the girls were right. They had ideas the boys hadn't thought about, or even come close to thinking about, especially on the topic of the younger years. None of the boys knew what to do with them while they trained the older kids.

"What if we them in simple spells like concealment and locking? Things they don't know yet, but could be useful to hide themselves and get out of the way during an attack" suggested Susan. "And have them know the school. Have them find safe rooms in their extra time."

Hermione was quiet for most of the conversation, commenting here and there, but not saying much of anything. When the others had finally ran their topics out, Hermione left them with a plan of attack.

"We need something that the Death Eaters don't, guys. And we need it fast." She stood up and walked towards the window that looked out over the Hogwarts grounds. "When you think of it, let us know. You'll know when it comes to you."

-

If the teachers noticed a change in the student body, they never let on. Over the course of the next month a majority of the students were brought into the new group, slowly introduced as the Leaders found out whether or not they should be trusted. In the end there were very few left out, most of them Slytherins. There were a few Hufflepuffs and some Ravenclaws. No Gryffindors, though that didn't surprise anyone. Slowly, the group grew.

They eventually organized themselves into teams or groups, mixing houses and shoring up weaknesses until all of the groups were around the same strength. The younger years were separated from the older years, and though they originally complained about how unfair it was, they didn't complain for long.

As the best of the school in charms, Lisa Turpin, Hermione Granger, Dean Thomas, Hannah Abbot, Ginny Weasley and Pansy Parkinson taught the younger years. All of them rotated out of teaching so that they could stay up to par with the older students Defense work.

They had decided to call themselves SHADE, Students of Hogwarts Against Death Eaters. When an emergency meeting of the Team Leaders was called, the message went out through the school's gossip chains in the form of the line "We needed some shade today." Those meetings were always held at seven in the Head Common Room, as opposed to when they set the time for the mass meetings or training sessions in the Room of Requirement.

While it was an odd sentence, it wasn't too odd and anyone could pass it off as a part of a pervious conversation. As it wasn't needed much, the teachers never had the chance to get suspicious.

In the meetings, they drilled. They got better and better at the fundamentals, which allowed them to build up to things, and to improvise. Instead of knowing the charm, they knew how to make the charm. Instead of knowing the potion, they knew what the most common of ingredients did and reacted with.

If the teachers noticed the students advancing faster than they should or knowing more basics than they taught, they never said anything.

It wasn't until Snape noticed that barely anyone was going to the last Hogsmead trip before the spring holidays that they even thought that the students might be up to something.

Instead of going with the other teachers and the few students going to the town, Snape and McGonagall decided to find out where the students were. They did a cursory sweep through the castle and very few students could be found. So they looked the only place McGonagall could think that they would all fit: the Room of Requirement.

While it might have been a good idea to find the students, the two teachers should have known that anything involving Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy all being on the same side was bound to be dangerous for anyone trying to figure out what they were doing. It _should_ have dawned on the two that every one of their students missing were for the alliance between the houses, and were there fore fighting together. It _should_ have dawned on them that all of the older students missing had been working well together no matter their house for the last while. It _should_ have dawned on them that all of the students missing had been using complementary magic with one another for some time now.

But, alas, it didn't.

So, they entered the Room of Requirements after completely ignoring the most basic alarm spell ever invented at the start of the hall, and came face to face with a majority of the students from year four and up, all of whom had their wands drawn and pointed at the door. It was, Snape would later recall, worse than facing Voldemort, simply because they were defending, not attacking.

Upon their entry, both of the teachers were frozen. There had been two freezing spells apiece, one from Hermione and Draco and one from Harry and Pansy. Both were powerful combinations, used in tandem by a witch and a wizard who's magic was Most Complementary.

The students had learned about Complementary Magic through out their years at Hogwarts, just little pieces here and there. But after the meeting of the Leaders, Hemione and Pansy had done some research and found the 'it' that Hermione was talking about: Complementary Magic.

Complementary Magic was, to put it simply, almost as powerful as blood magic. They couldn't find many Most Complementary pairs at Hogwarts, but there were a few. They were pair's who's magic wasn't similar, but could meld together and form a totally new magic that was if not twice as strong as normal, then almost. The person would say a spell at the same time their Most Complementary partner would say one, whether it be the same or different, and their magics would gain power and return to them. When the spell hit the intended target, it worked with the power that it gained from being Most Complementary. And it happened in a split second. Most magic, when used with a second person's, was maybe somewhat stronger. This was enormous amounts of power. It was also undetectable because it was something that the Ministy of Magic didn't think to detect for, and so forth had never found a way to.

When they figured out just who they had frozen, the two teams were quick to put a shielding charm up to keep the teachers from seeing just who was there and then disperse the SHADE members. Once all that was left was the original eight plotters, they took the shielding charm off.

"We're going to unfreeze you now, so we'll have to support you so you don't fall, okay professors" Hermione asked them, though the others didn't wait for the reply that the teachers couldn't give.

The boys supported the teachers while Hermione and Pansy unfroze them. In Hermione's arm's Gwyn gurgled. She had never missed a SHADE meeting, and was often called Commander Gwyn in play, because Hermione, whom everyone considered the true brains behind the operations, was dictated by Gwyn's wants and needs.

Both of the professors sagged into the boys' grip when the spell was released, and quickly staggered upright. McGonagall's lips were in a thin line and Snape had a scowl darker than they'd ever seen before.

"What is the meaning of this" McGonagall's voice was tight with reigned in furry.

"This is SHADE, Professor" Hermione told her like it was a normal thing.

"And what is this… this shade" asked Snape.

"A group" several of them told the professors at the same time.

Hermione turned to the side a little so that the adults wouldn't see her smile. It wouldn't do for them to know that they had practiced this quite often.

"What kind of group" Snape snapped, his intense dislike for mischief made plain.

"A group of students" Harry told him.

Both teachers glowered at him. He shrugged. "It is, you know."

Draco nodded. "Yes, it is. A group of Hogwarts students."

"And it's purpose, Hermione" McGonagall asked, perceiving the smile the girl was trying to hide.

"To prepare ourselves" Hermione answered.

"And protect ourselves" Pansy added.

"And train us" someone else said.

"And to learn how to work together."

"And to learn how to use the least amount of magic efficiently."

"And to figure out where we work the best."

"And how we work the best."

"And who we work the best with."

"And what we work the best with."

"And"

"Enough" Snape growled. "We get the point."

"Do you, Professor" Hermione asked, stepping between Draco and Lisa to face him directly. She stood in front of the group of seven others, holding Gwyn tight to her chest. She looked like a she-wolf protecting her cubs, standing there in the face of an adversary she shouldn't have a hope at defeating but willing to try anyways. "Do you get why we are doing this? Do you understand that we know the war is coming and we know it is coming here? To Hogwarts? To us?

"Do you know that we're aware of exactly how few of us will probably make it out of this war? How few of us would have even seen the last few minutes if we didn't train like this? Even if we train like this?

"Have you been in this war so long you no longer see us as children but merely as pawns? Do you see that either the Light side or the Dark side will use us to their purposes with out training us or even giving us a good reason to allow ourselves to be sacrificed? So that the older, more experienced members of the sides can live to battle?

"We get it, Professor. We do. We know all of that, and so much more. We know what our purpose in this war is. Do you? Do. You. Get. It" She paused, her gaze locking with Snape's.

Her brown eyes were heavy with the knowledge, with age. Her face held worry lines he hadn't seen even just a few months before. Her body was tense, still as if she were to move she would fly to pieces, unable to hold herself together any longer. Everyone in the room could feel the power radiating from her, feel the immense sadness she carried for their situation.

"Do you understand that we don't want to die because of this"

-

**Author's Note:** wow. Okay, sorry for the dely. Yunie only got to do a cursory glance over this, so send me mistakes. I'll fix them. Um, yes. I made a website for this. inkdotspilt-applejuicedotcomslashfanfictionslashsilver . replace the words with the right thing and you'll get the url.

ALSO! Go see fandomaid. It's a livejournal community, called fandomaid. Or go to the fadom aid store, lj user fastore. I wrote, among other things, a DHr short for it.

**x-posted**: all over. My lj, unperfectwolf, and several communities.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Silver Glass**

**By UnperfectWolf**

**Chapter Seven:**

Dumbledore steepled his hands in front of him, looking down at his desk. He was fighting a grin and truly didn't think his teachers would appreciate it should they have seen it. Of course, it wasn't everyday he listened to two of his best teachers tell him they were out magicked by some of their students.

"Albus, really. Shouldn't we do something to stop them?" McGonagall asked, her voice tight with the anger of not being able to deflect her student's spells.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "And what would you suggest?"

Neither could respond before the door opened. "Doing nothing," Hermione said, as she and Draco entered. One often forgot Draco's heritage these days, since he no longer made show of it. But it was impossible to see them as anything less than a prince and his consort, as Lord and Lady, as they entered. Both of them fairly danced with magic as it roiled in them, something Dumbledore took to mean they weren't as sure of themselves as they appeared to be.

Draco handed her into a chair that he conjured, something that caused raised eyebrows from Snape and McGonagall. Since when had they known how to conjure on that level?

Draco smirked at his teachers, the same Malfoy smirk he'd always worn. This time though, Hermione was smiling as well, her lips turned up in a secretive way that complimented Draco's smirk. They looked the perfect pair, her in the chair, him standing behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder.

"Professors," Hermione canted her head in each of their directions. They all recognized this for what it was: another display of power.

"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore smiled at them. Neither Snape or McGonagall said anything. Both were watching with curious eyes, though their faces were impassive. Hermione shifted uneasily when the Headmaster said her name.

"You have an explanation, I assume?" he asked.

"Of course, Professor." Hermione nodded. "But we won't explain until we know you'll leave it alone." While she had started out friendly enough, her voice had hardened in the end. It was cold, unfeeling. Commanding. Enthralling. Demanding.

"Of course, my dear. I always have and will continue to do so. You know this." Dumbledore smiled at her. She smiled back before turning her gaze to the two teachers.

She had, it seemed, picked up on some of Draco's more charming traits. Both students, with icey glares identical in all but color, waited for the two professors to give their word. It was obvious not a word would be said until they did.

Snape didn't look like he was going acquiesce. McGonagall decided it wasn't worth the time to fight the children, especially seeing as how she would most likely loose said fight in the end anyway. She nodded her head. "You have my word."

Hermione gave her Head of House a small, tight smile before turning her gaze onto the Potions Master. "And you sir?"

"Fine," he spat, glaring at her. All three adults could see Draco bristle at his tone towards Hermione. Dumbledore hid a smile, knowing that it would send them all up in arms. "I give you my word, if I must."

"You must," Hermione told him smoothly, her voice oddly cool compared to her normally warm tone. She eyed him for a moment. Then she turned to Dumbledore and McGonagall, seemingly dismissing Snape. "What we are doing is preparing. We told you that," she nodded to her two teachers. "You _cannot_ let them know you know. You cannot say anything to anyone besides us. That would nullify all of the work we've done."

"Why?" asked McGonagall.

"Because," Hermione gave her a long, calculating look. "Then those not involved would know about it."

"Those not involved?" this question came from Snape.

"Yes. Several Slytherins and some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. People we couldn't trust, as their…" She didn't know what to call them. She looked at Draco.

"The House Leaders. Who we couldn't trust, as their Leaders." He gave voice, for the first time, to the name everyone thought of them by. Acknowledged that they were real. That they had a true role in the internal politics.

All three professors raised an eyebrow at this concession. None of them said anything though, and Hermione continued on. "Like I said before, we _do not_ want to die. And while we know you mean well by us in general purposes, in the end we _are_ pawns in this war, if we do no take our preparations, or lack there of, into our own hands. I, for one, do not intend to be a pawn. Nor will my daughter be one." Her eyes stared the adults down, defiance burning in them. None of them commented on it.

"How…" McGonagall looked them over as she paused. "How were you able to freeze us?"

Hermione tipped her head back to look at Draco. He nodded. Looking at Dumbledore he told them. "We're putting up wards now. We know you have them, but this will alert us to any magical use in the area, inside them and out."

The Professors watched as the two raised their wands and simultaneously recited a spell that none of them knew. A flash of silver and gold spun out from the two students, not their wands, and encircled the room. The air almost hummed with magic as the spell settled and the color faded

"What was that?" Snape breathed out once the spell was firmly in place.

Draco gave his Head of House a funny look. "That was magic, sir," he told him slowly, as if wondering if he was okay or not. He and Hermione exchanged a look.

Dumbledore spoke quickly, alleviating the other's chance to speak and taking the student's sarcasm at face value so that the two teachers wouldn't get offended. "Just what spell was that, Mister Malfoy, Miss Granger?"

When he said her name, her hand reached up and grabbed Draco's. He squeezed it, knowing that the actions had not gone unnoticed.

"That was _Omnimodus Erectus quod Pupillus Pupilla Alica_¹, sir," Hermione told him.

McGonagal sucked in a deep breath, a gasp almost. "Oh gods, Hermione, that's _Old Magic_!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. He teacher obviously meant for her to infer something from that comment, but at the moment she didn't know what that was. The amount of information on Old Magic that she could was minimal, and Draco, who knew the most about it out of any one they had talked to, hadn't mentioned anything to her. Not, of course, that she would admit to not knowing.

"You know the repercussions that can come from using magic like that, Draco! Why would you endanger her? How could you?" Snape asked, his voice harsh with concern. It surprised her, again, to hear him concerned for her.

"It's only dangerous if you don't have the power or control to handle it," Draco replied, his voice cool. His silver eyes flashed at the suggestion that he might purposely put her in danger, put her life on the line.

"And I suppose you both have it?" snapped Snape.

"We do," Hermione told her. Her mind had made one of the connections she was so well known for. Old Magic. The power. Power of control. She smiled dangerously at her potions teacher. "It's really not that dangerous, if at all, to those who are Most Complementary. Especially those who are _Vinculum_² to their partner."

"Bonded?" McGonagal choked out the word. Snape looked shocked.

Draco pulled a sealed scroll from his robes, handing it to the Headmaster. "Official documentation from the Ministry telling us that they were aware of the bonding. It's signed and sealed, by both of us and the Minister."

Dumbledore's face broke into a smile. "Congratulations are in order then, it seems, Mister Malfoy, Madame Malfoy." He held out a hand to them.

Draco shook it, and when Hermione reached for it, the Headmaster pulled her hand up and dropped a kiss to it formally. She smiled at him. The old bastard had probably known about it before the Ministry.

All of the room's occupants knew about Complementary Magic. They all knew that those who's power was Most Complementary could increase their magical power if they _Vinculum _their partner. Increase their _personal_ power, as well as the power that they had when they used their magic in tandem.

_Vinculum_ was an old form of the wizarding marriage bonds used today. It was no longer popular because no one had ever been recorded reversing the bond and more and more people found that they just might want to somewhere down the line. It hadn't been hard to find the spell to invoke it though, and the two were able to do it on their own.

McGonagall sighed, bringing her hand up to rub her forehead. "Should I assume Harry and Miss Parkinson are Most Complementary as well?"

Hermione hesitated. Draco looked at them before reminding them of their word. "No one is to hear about this."

The two teachers nodded, Snape looking unhappy at the reminder. Hermione eyed them a moment longer before nodding as well. "They are. They are not bonded, and I do not know if they ever plan on it, before you ask." She looked up at Draco and he nodded.

She raised her wand and muttered the incantation to end the spell. Once she was done, Draco repeated it. There was a quick, bright flash of color and a small pop and then the spell was gone.

Draco helped Hermione up and with a wave of his hand, the chair was gone. "If that's all, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore smiled to himself. Oh yes, it was most defiantly nice to see this couple, the young Lord and Lady Malfoy. They looked stunning together, though they were in normal, everyday robes, they had _presence_. He didn't know if it was the magic they had gained, or just confidence. Maybe it was even nervousness. But they were both seemingly peerless. It was delightful to see. "Of course. We'll just ignore the incident early, yes?"

Hermione smiled, her face seeming to thaw a little. "As you say, sir. Thank you." She nodded to him, then both of the professors. Draco did the same. As they reached the door Hermione stopped and turned around. "Know, though, Professor, we will not be sacrificed when it comes time. We will be prepared and we will fight." She nodded again to them.

"Do not underestimate us," she called over her shoulder as the door shut.

With that, the two teenagers left three completely winded adults. Well, they had always been told necessity bred ingenuity.

OOO

True to their word, no one heard of the incident from the Professors. Hermione and Draco empathetically said that they had taken care of it, and that was that.

With their worries over that gone, both Draco and Hermione began to fret over the coming nine day break. They were going to spend it with Hermione's parents, much to the dismay of many.

Others tried many tactics, not the least of them being asked stupid questions over and over. Didn't they worry about Death Eaters? Did they really want to endanger Gwyn? Couldn't they take care of this _after_?

To each question, no matter how many times they heard it, they responded firmly that they were well and able to take care of their selves and their daughter where ever they were _thankyouverymuch_. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that this was true, especially after dinner on Thursday.

Thursday night found Hermione entering the Great Hall alone. She and Draco were meeting at Dinner tonight as she had been tutoring a large group in the Library and Gwyn needed to be changed before dinner, so forth separating them for the time being. Tonight they would be dinning with the rest of the House Leaders, as they did quite often. Tonight they had chosen Slytherin's table to sit at.

They rotated tables, never sitting at the same one twice in a row. This was they kept the word 'bias' out of the way, snuffing out the feelings of House Rivalry before they could loose the fragile truce that had been called. While most students would support the House Leader's decisions, sometimes six or seven year's worth of fighting couldn't be shoved to the side. None of the House Leaders were stupid enough to think it could be, or that it should be expected.

Hermione had walked down along the wall next to the Slytherin table, smiling at those she was friends with and shooing the younger years she had brought to dinner with her off to their seats. Once they had all found their spots, Hermione had turned to go back and take the seat she always sat in at this table, the one next to where Draco always sat, when she was confronted.

Blaise Zambini was known for his looks, not his smarts. Confronting her there, in the middle of the Great Hall, surrounded by witnesses, was not the thing he should have done. One would normally have expected more from a Slytherin, but then, one would never normally have expected Hermione and Draco to be the ones who united the Houses. Still, it was no excuse for a Slytherin to do something with out considering the affects.

He stood in front of her, some good nine inches taller, and smirked down at her. "Do me a favor, Mudblood, and give my regards to Kateeka, will you?"

Hermione had kept moving, her intention to completely ignore him, until she heard his words. Then she froze. The rest of the hall froze when she did. Her ability to affect the entire student body was testimony to how important she had become.

The nearest students shivered when a feeling of magic prickled their skin. Hermione looked up into his face before she slapped him. "Do not ever speak to me or of her again, you bastard," she told him evenly. Her eyes were narrowed in rage though, telling him all he needed to know, and causing him to bolt.

It was then Hermione proved for sure that she was not only the Gryffindor Princes, but also the Slytherin one.

When Blaise had turned tail and run, it would have seemed that anyone else who was planning on confronting her that night would have put it off until another time. Not only had she just slapped someone from another house with no retribution, she had also proved she was most definitely in control of that house. Blaise Zambini had been the last Slytherin to hold out on congratulating Hermione and Draco on Gwyn and wishing them luck. While the others may not have liked them, they had submitted to their will and ceased making life hard on them.

But Alieen Rutherford was not in her right mind. Her whole entire time at Hogwarts she had been just behind both Hermione and Draco. As far as she was concerned, no muggle-born witch who got herself pregnant should have been Head Girl. And her being behind Hermione in every single class was just the end of it. For awhile, she had been at the head of the class in Ancient Runes. Hermione had recently gotten ahead of her though.

She stalked up to the Head Girl not seconds after the Blaise had run. "I have a bone to pick with you, Mudblood!" she cried.

Hermione, already on edge because of Blaise, sneered at her when she used the insult Draco had used on her for years. Since somewhere in second year it had slid right off her. It still didn't excuse the Ravenclaw, and while she would normally have tried to figure out what was wrong, at the moment Hermione frankly didn't give a damn.

"I," she told the other girl, "do not have muddy blood. Look for your self." She pulled a small dagger from her robes. With Voldemort about, many of the students went armed as such and none of the teachers paid any mind.

She moved the dagger over her palm and cut a smooth, shallow line across it. "See?" she held the hand up. The entire hall watched bright, _red_ blood run down across her pale skin. "No mud, just blood. Like yours."

The dagger had disappeared back into her robes and with a flick of her good hand, sans wand, and the wound healed. Several gasps were heard across the hall at the display of wandless magic.

"Now," Hermione told the girl, "What do you want?"

The girl stuttered a second before recovering. "You! You're not fit to be Head Girl! You get into trouble and you got yourself pregnant! How are you the best person to be Head Girl?"

Hermione's eyes turned cold as she listened and her body stiffened. Several Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had stood, but the Slytherins were closest. Several of those's who were loyal to both Draco and Hermione stood and backed her.

Alieen's eyes widened. She'd forgotten, in her self pity and her rage against Hermione, that she had the support of all of the Houses. She had just made a grave mistake. For Hermione was their leader. She was the one who they listened to when they would listen to no one else. Where it could take someone plenty of points and many long minutes to get the student's attention, Hermione could get it in less time than Professor Snape.

From the High Table, the teachers watched as the student body protected their Head Girl. Students from every house were ready to jump and protect her. Slytherins and Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and even Ravenclaws, standing against one of their own, stood side by side to defend her.

"It seems," Dumbledore said quietly to himself as Alieen fled the room, "that Hogwarts has found her Queen."

OOO

¹ _Omnimodus Erectus quod Pupillus Pupilla Alica_ roughly translates into 'Universal Alerting and Warding Spell'

² _Vinculum_ means, roughly, 'bonded'

OOO

**Author's Notes:** this chapter's unbeta'd by any but me. Sorry! If someone's interested, I could always use another. Yunie has enough on her plate. Yes, well, I hope you enjoyed this. Sorry about the horrible Latin, I used an online translator (gags) and such as that, it's probably completely wrong. The Bonding will be explained in time, so patience! I'm glad you all enjoyed Hermione's little speech. It was fun to write. I guess I can kind of see her standing up and saying that, protecting all of the younger years. I posted a few one-shots, a dracohermione and a Hermione centric. You might wanna see them too? Shameless plug! Oh yes, as my normal "spacers" have been banned :snarls: I decided to useOOO (centered) to mean new scene, ect.

**Hearts To:** buttonmommy1998, latestart, Hafthand, reads4fun, PaRTy-GiRL089, ayu, BoRn TO mAkE ChAoS, xInfernal, OrgnlAmagic, Kace08, Lady Idhri, Vio Momen, fieryred20, flaming-amber, jesska-14


	8. Chapter Eight

**Silver Glass**

**By:** UnperfectWolf**  
**

**Chapter Eight:**

The news came Wednesday at breakfast. Hermione, Draco and Gwynavere had returned to the school the night before because something in a conversation with her mother had triggered a waterfall of ideas for Hermione. It turned out to be the only thing that saved them.

They had been sitting at the kitchen table, discussing religions. Hermione's mother, it turned out, loved learning as much as her daughter. They were quite similar, those too, both interested in everything, it seemed, and looked a lot a like, Hermione having her mother's hair and body type.

She had her father's eyes, but there the similarities stopped. She was book smart and street smart, and her father was a large, tough man that came off as a bully.

When they had first gotten to her parents house, he had greeted her with a few choice words on her 'situation', though he'd shut up at a look from Draco. It seemed, while he wasn't afraid of his daughter (Draco knew he would be if he worked her up enough to use magic, now that she legally could) he _was_ afraid of her husband who had five inches on him, and a wand.

Now they were back at Hogwarts, ready to begin planning. Hermione was excited about this idea, talking nonstop to anyone who would listen. She was in the middle of re-explaining it to Ginny when the Ravens entered the Great Hall.

Ravens were only sent by the Ministry when someone had died. To see seventeen of them floating in to the Great Hall that morning had shocked the room to silence. It was only broken by the jagged cries that came from the recipients when their letters were opened. Hermione didn't doubt that each letter was nearly identical to the one she received.

"_Madame Hermione Jane Malfoy,_

_We are sorry to tell you that both your mother and father, Anne Marie Granger and Charles Ruben Granger, passed away last night due to unknown circumstances. Please accept our condolences._

**_Cornelius Oswald Fudge_**

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge_

_Minister of Magic, Great Britain_"

Taking a deep breath, Hermione turned her head to look at Draco. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. As he kissed her temple, he wondered if his father had been the one to do it, or if it was someone else. "I'm sorry, love, so sorry."

"You didn't do it Draco. It's… it's not your fault," she closed her eyes as she said this and he knew she didn't blame him, but his father and Voldemort. He did too.

Resolutely, she stood, Draco at her side and Gwyn in her arms, and moved towards Dumbledore, who had received two of the Ravens. When they approached, he looked up, his blue eyes sad. "The Creevey boys and Ila Dickinson."

"Ila?" Hermione asked, her eyes tearing up. It was hard to imagine the third year Gryffindor girl dead. Especially because Ila had been Hermione's pet project, the young girl having been just as bookish and unsociable as Hermione had been when she was younger.

"I know, child, I'm so sorry… and… your parents?" he asked. All of the teachers listened while trying to look like they were not.

"Dead." Her voice was flat when she said this. Draco knew then she would be working as hard as she could to end this soon. In trying to weaken her, Voldemort had just given her all the fuel she needed to run him into the ground.

"Oh, child…" She looked into Dumbledore's eyes for a second longer before she turned and faced the silent hall. Seventeen Ravens had come in. That meant, if each family got one Raven, that seventeen families were dead.

"Colin Creevey, Denise Creevey and Ila Dickenson were killed last night, along with my parents and fourteen other families. I don't know which of you who received the owls had siblings who were killed as well, but those of you who did, I give you my greatest sympathies. I don't know how bad it must hurt to loose them all," her voice was soft as she spoke, but everyone heard her. She looked up at Draco who nodded, before she turned and walked away, moving down the hall and out of the doors. No one stopped her as she went.

When she was gone, Draco looked out at the crowd, his silver eyes lashing dangerously. No one said anything as he looked them all over. He finally nodded and walked out, following Hermione.

Everyone knew he'd been looking for the person who told Voldemort he and Hermione were supposed to be at her parent's house. They knew, looking at him then, that he would get revenge on the person who had. Draco and Hermione would take it, for themselves, and for everyone else, when the time came. They would make the rat that had infested their halls pay dearly.

Most of the students were hard pressed to keep from glancing over to where Blaise Zabini sat, alone.

OOO

Within a week there was a plan in the works. It would not take place until the summer solstice. The solstice fell on a Sunday. They would graduate five days later, on the 26th.

Hermione had explained to everyone her reasoning for them to do battle on that day. It was from the religion of the witches that she had pulled her date. She had explained to the purebloods the foundings of their paganism, their beliefs. The God of Light, known by names like The Holly King, Gawain, Llew, Lugh, Balan and many others, was born at midwinter, on the Longest Night, and was at his strongest on the Longest Day. His twin, the God of Darkness, known by names such as The Oak King, The Green Knight, Goronwy, Balor, and Balin, would be at his weakest on Midsummer's Eve.

Seamus helped her, telling them all the story of Lugh and Balor, the great eye that had once ruled the land that was now Ireland and told them of the Spear, the Chalice and the Sword.

Hermione had gotten a manuscript of Pixie lore and read from it, pointing to their stories that featured The Holly King and The Oak King as they fought.

All in all, she made a convincing argument for a battle on the longest day. Now all they had to do was lure Voldemort out to fight.

Hermione left that to the hands of the adults. She had provided the date and means of his demise, they could provide him for the battle. Now she was solely focused on the students and teaching them what they would need to know to survive the battle.

The whole school watched as she worked, waiting for her to fall apart. She never did, though she was working harder than they'd ever seen, and none of her hard work was going towards studying for NEWTS.

In fact, most of the seventh years had stopped paying much attention to their NEWT preparations. The Professors watched in trepidation as the students became distant, barely there in class. Half of the time they were passing notes about other things, their mind somewhere the adults couldn't follow.

Because Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape hadn't said anything about the students and their group, none of the others knew that the students were preparing for war. Those involved in the Order of the Phoenix knew about Hermione and her having come up with a plan to kill Voldemort, but none knew that she and a majority of the students trained and planned how they would take on the battle.

And train they did. They worked hard, late into nights and through meals. They made themselves work harder than any of them ever had for school or Quiditch.

The Quiditch matches had begun to loose their appeal to most of the students. The teams still reluctantly showed up for practice – sometimes, if there wasn't a meeting or a training session for SHADE. Madam Hooch had never seen anything like this, and was often heard complaining to the other adults about the students complete lack of interest.

Hogsmeade weekend sales had gone down, as most of the people who bought things on the weekends were students and were no longer coming to see them. Questions had been asked, and no answers received. After the first month of it, those who owned the shops gave up asking and worked around the lack of teenagers.

The pranks and fights had gone down. The students, while tense, had found a new way to work off tension – dueling class and training sessions.

At night, all of the students seemed to fall into a bed, asleep before their heads touched the pillow. Almost every night the Professor on patrol had to wake someone up in the baths.

Detentions went down to a record low, the students not having time to get into fights or make messes. Their homework got done – though it wasn't always well done, it was done.

All of the work that the students did was paying off, because as they worked harder for SHADE, the easier their class work became. The teachers noticed, but most didn't say anything to anyone.

Pieces were starting to fall into place for the excluded adults. They watched how all of the children interacted, watched as slowly it didn't take Hermione or Draco's presence to sooth the Gryffindors and Slytherins into working together. They watched in amazement as a Slytherin and a Gryffindor stopped a Ravenclaw in the middle of belittling a Hufflepuff. They watched as instead of pairing off by house, they paired off into groups and duos that made sense, ones that shored up each other's weaknesses.

They watched as the students grew from children into young adults. Watched as they forgot their prejudices, forgot that they had all been enemies for years.

One evening in the Great Hall, a first year Hufflepuff tripped and fell. Instead of being helped up by another member of her House, Pansy Parkinson was the one to come and help her up, the one to heal her scratched knee.

The adults watched as no one found it odd, and noticed how familiar the two were.

Each weekend, she and Draco would meet with the three Professors who knew about SHADE and inform them of what they were doing and how it would affect the adults. As the teenagers slowly came up with more and more details for the fight, they were relayed to the adults.

Like wise, the adults relayed what information Hermione and Draco weren't privy to as junior members of the Order so that when the time came, neither would be stepping on the others toes.

Slowly the whole thing was falling into place. The adults who didn't know about SHADE had an idea that it, or something like it, was there, and almost every student had been included. Some still weren't, but it was only five seventh, two sixth and a fourth year. All of the rest had been cleared and had a group of others that they were training with.

As they became better and better at working with each other, their magic was growing stronger. They were learning things that sometimes took witches and wizards all their life to learn - how to use the least amount of magic with the greatest effect, how to amplify magic, how to 'bounce' magic off another person.

Dumbledore watched them, wondering how it had taken so long for Hogwarts to come together. There had been other Warlords, other Dark Wizards to come into play in the last 1000 years, and yet they had never managed to unite the school. He wondered if it was the situation, or if it was the players.

While neither the adults nor the students knew all of what was happening (only Dumbledore, Draco and Hermione did), they did know the other group was preparing something. None of the teachers were stupid; all of them knew something was happening. And the students all noticed the increase patrols, the tired looks their teachers wore. They looked quite similar to the ones they themselves wore.

Both the adults and the students knew that even with plans, once the fight started everything would be shot to hell. Still, neither group wanted to go into a battle with having hashed out everything, with out the knowledge that they _could_ win, that things could go their way.

And so, June drew ever closer.

OOO

_Chapter Dedication: to MenenTesa, who sparked me into writing this when I wasn't and should have been, simply because I came across this fic on her favorite's list. And to Ali (Lady Idhril), for the kick ass beta._

Author's Notes: Yada yada. Sorry it took so long to get this out. But it's here. It's mostly filler (if you hadn't noticed) and I have a really hard time writing filler chapters. More sooner than last time, hopefully. Sorry if you had to re-read the damn thing to remember it (rolls eyes) I'm just good like that.

Hearts To: angelfire 2004, amandasue06, colorguard06, Kace08, Hafthand, MissingInAction, xoKaSsIeox, jesska-14, Cat, carla, MenenTesa, ali-lou, Jenalei(_leave and email and we can chat about you're ooc concerns_), tankbbg, xInfernal, Lady Idhril(_one of my lovely beta's_), WhATs hER NaME 9613, OrgnlAmagic, totallylost, ellangel, dracodea, yuniechan(_my other lovely beta_), buttonmommy1998


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